FREEPORT — Standing in the pouring rain near midfield when the game was over, Lisbon/St. Dominic senior defensive end Canaan Cameron knew his team had just done something special, even in a program with the rich football history of the Greyhounds.

“That was probably one of our defining moments, right there,” Cameron said.

The Greyhounds’ defensive stand in the closing seconds of a back-and-forth contest, keeping Freeport from potentially tying the game, was the difference. Lisbon held on for a 28-21 win, and advanced to the Class D state championship game on Nov. 19 at Cameron Stadium in Bangor.

No. 3 Lisbon’s opponent will be defending state champion and top-seeded Foxcroft Academy. The Greyhounds (7-3) defeated Foxcroft, 14-13, on Sept. 23 for the Ponies (9-1) only loss. No. 2 Freeport ends its season at 6-4. Freeport had defeated Lisbon, 35-22, in Week 1 of the regular season.

Lisbon took the lead with 5:40 to play when quarterback Jimmy Fitzsimmons scored on a 1-yard run, and Josh Carter ran in the 2-point conversion for a 28-21 lead. When the kickoff went out of bounds, the Falcons took over on their own 35.

Jordan Knighton’s 34-yard run pushed Freeport to the Lisbon 33. Five plays later, a Knighton run and a Lisbon personal foul set Freeport up with first-and-goal from the 8. Quarterback Aidan Heath ran three yards on first down. A false start pushed the Falcons back five yards, and on second down Heath connected with Knighton on a 7-yard pass to the 3.

On third down, Cameron led a pack of Greyhounds who tackled Knighton for a 4-yard loss as he tried to take the ball the right edge of the line. Cameron said Lisbon was expecting Heath to try a keeper up the middle, a play that had worked throughout the game, but were able to get the stop.

After a Freeport timeout with 18 seconds left, the Falcons’ fourth-down play was a pass to the left corner of the end zone, which was intercepted by Ethayn Roberts.

“Some penalties cost us some field position, but I’m very proud of the effort we put in,” said Freeport Coach Paul St. Pierre.

All of Lisbon’s 211 yards came on the ground, as the Greyhounds did not attempt a pass. Colby Levasseur ran for 99 yards, while Josh Carter added 73 for Lisbon.

Freeport opened the game with a 98-yard scoring drive, grinding nearly nine minutes off the clock and taking a 7-0 lead on Noah Michaud’s 5-yard run. Carter scored Lisbon’s first touchdown with 6:56 left in the second quarter to cut Freeport’s lead to 7-6. A Fitzsimmons 1-yard run with four minutes left in the first half gave Lisbon a 12-7 lead. Freeport the lead again with seven seconds left in the half, when Heath threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Max Peters for a 14-12 halftime lead.

Jack Ramich’s 2-yard touchdown run gave the Greyhounds a 20-14 lead with 3:02 left in the third quarter. A key play on the drive was a 2-yard run by Fitzsimmons on fourth-and-1 from the Lisbon 35. Going for it at deep in their own territory was a must, Lisbon Coach Chris Kates said, as the Greyhounds tried to keep the ball out of Freeport’s hands.

“Our best defense was our offense at that point,” Kates said.

Freeport regained the lead on the final play of the third, 21-20. when Heath scored on a 2-yard run and the Falcons made the extra point.

« Previous

Next »

Related Stories